Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a navigation catheter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a navigation catheter having a compound curve at a distal portion. Additionally, the present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a navigation catheter.
Description of Related Art
Microwave ablation systems may be utilized for treating various maladies, e.g., cancerous growths on different organs, such as, for example, the liver, brain, heart, lung, and kidney. A microwave ablation system may include a microwave energy source, an ablation probe, and one or more guide members, e.g., a navigation catheter, that are used to guide a microwave ablation probe adjacent target tissue. The navigation catheter, as well as the microwave ablation probe, is typically relatively thin and flexible to allow a clinician to navigate the navigation catheter through a luminal network of an organ, e.g., a lung. In certain instances, a sensor may be positioned within the navigation catheter to facilitate positioning a distal end of the navigation catheter adjacent target tissue. A location of the distal end of the navigation catheter is then recorded.
Once the location of the navigation catheter is obtained, the sensor may be removed from the navigation catheter and one or more surgical instruments (e.g., biopsy, forceps, cytology brush, aspirating needles, ablation catheters, etc.) may be inserted through the navigation catheter and positioned at or extended from the navigation catheter. Extending the surgical instrument from or even advancing the surgical instrument to the distal end of the navigation catheter may cause the distal end of the navigation catheter to deflect from its original position and move relative to the target tissue.
Currently, existing navigation catheters include a curved distal end, and while these catheters are suitable for their intended purposes, deflection of the curved distal end of the navigation catheter (e.g., as a result of the surgical instrument being extended from or positioned at the distal end) after the location has been determined, can make it difficult for a clinician to accurately position tools and maintain tissue target trajectory. As can be appreciated, this, in turn, may decrease target tissue sampling and treatment efficacy.